Many consumer and industrial processes involve transferring fluids to and from vessels in which the liquids are stored, reacted, modified, or otherwise handled. Typically, inlet and outlet plumbing components are connected to a vessel in order to feed or withdraw fluids from the vessel. In order to create fluid tight couplings, these coupling structures can be quite complex, involving several tubes or pipes, coupling elements, valves, gaskets, and the like. Manufacture, installation, adjustment, positioning, repair, cleaning and sanitizing, and use are more difficult than desired when so many components are involved.
The process of brewing beer, either on a commercial or home brewing scale, is an illustrative context in which plumbing components are connected to inlets and outlets of several processing vessels. Typically, beer brewing involves process steps such as malting, milling, mashing, lautering, boiling, fermenting, conditioning, filtering, and packaging. For example, the boiling step typically occurs in a kettle. Ingredients often including water, one or more sugar sources including malted barley, and hops, are boiled to accomplish objectives including sterilization of the wort to remove unwanted bacteria, releasing of hop flavors, stopping enzymatic processes, precipitation of proteins, volatilize off-flavors, and concentration of the wort.
At the end of the boil, the kettle generally includes the desired liquid phase and a solid phase referred to as the trub. A whirlpool effect may be used to collect solids in the bottom center region of the kettle, while the desired liquid product is drained from the perimeter of the kettle. A kettle generally includes a drain conduit to drain the liquid. A valve typically is provided outside the kettle to open and close the drain. A drain system includes a pickup tube or other inlet structure through which the liquid enters the drain system.
Kettles marketed for home brewing are supplied with a drain structure included threaded bosses on the inside and outside of the kettle. The bosses are used to connect the desired plumbing components. It is desirable that the plumbing connections at the drain are fluid-tight so that the kettle does not leak. Examples of commercially available brew kettles with such drain fittings are available under trade designations MegaPot 1.2 and Polar Ware.
A common practice in home brewing is to attach a pick up tube to the inside of the kettle drain for withdrawing the liquid. Conventional practice involves using coupling components, gaskets, and the like to make the plumbing connection. This involves many components to install. The large number of components to connect makes installation, cleaning and sanitizing, use, adjustment, and removal more cumbersome than might be desired. Home brewers actively investigate better ways to couple interior drain components to the drain of a brew kettle. Another concern is to use a pick up strategy that drains as much of the liquid as practically feasible while leaving as much of the solids behind.
For example, a current beer brewing blog is at www.morebeer.com. Blog participants have discussed strategies for devising a better pick up to attach to the drain boss on a brew kettle. In one discussion, a blog participant described a pick up strategy in which a pick up tube is coupled to the drain boss with a 90 degree elbow. The pick-up tube is aimed sideways. The participant wanted a better strategy, as this one left 1.5 gallons behind in the kettle. The same participant later modified this strategy by aiming the tube downward, but still used the 90 degree elbow and plumbers tape at the connections.
Another blog participant used a threaded coupling, a 90 degree elbow and a tube aimed sideways. Connections between the components were soldered, making adjustment impractical. A gasketing material was used between the drain boss and the coupling.
The popularity of home brewing continues to increase. The demand for better fluid coupling strategies for brewing equipment such as boiling kettles remains strong.